Fools Gold
by Evil Amplified
Summary: While stuck out in the woods on a hunt, Dean is reminded of a different hunt when they were just children and a promise he had made to his brother. A promise that he had never kept. Set during Season 2 before Croatoan.


**Summary**: While stuck out in the woods on a hunt, Dean is reminded of a different hunt when they were just children and a promise he had made to his brother. A promise that he had never kept.

**Disclaimer**: It's not mine. They are not mine. They belong to only Kripke and themselves, so please don't sue.

**Author** **Notes**: Written sometime during Season 2 before Croatoan, with a little bit of wee!chester thrown in. Episode Wendigo mentioned but not in much detail.

I wrote this story months ago for a prompt on live journal but just realized that I never posted it on ffnet. So that being said, here's a little light one shot just to make us smile.

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This had to be one of the stupidest hunts they'd been on yet. What exactly had Sam been thinking dragging them out into the middle of nowhere with very little proof to back up the claim that there was actually a Chupacabra stalking the area. He had argued with Sam that the species mostly kept in the southern states and in Central America, but Sam had of course argued back that they had been seen as far north as Maine. Still very unlikely.

"Sam, can you remind me why we should even care if there is a Chupacabra in the area. They don't even attack humans," he grumbled slinging both his pack and his brother's up on his shoulder. They had only been one day out in the woods when Sam had managed to fall down a ravine dislocating his left shoulder. This had left Dean to do most of the heavy lifting, after doing his best to relocate his brother's shoulder. One of the few medical procedures that they both knew that Dean truly hated to do. He had to wonder at how much easier it was for him to sew up a knife wound or tape up cracked ribs. But dislocated shoulders bothered him. There was always the possibility of not getting it right when you relocated it, and there just wasn't the option to wait it out till they could get back to civilization. By that time his brother's arm could have been damaged beyond repair.

Sam sighed heavily and the sound caught as he took another step. Dean knew how every step must be driving agonizing pain into Sam's injury, but what else could he do? He had done his best with what they had, fixing up a make shift sling for Sam to wear, made out of one of Dean's long sleeve shirts. Sam paused walking long enough to speak, knowing it would be impossible while moving. "Look, Dean, it's already taken down several deer and even a few elk. What happens when it comes up against an unsuspecting hunter out looking for game? If it's strong enough to take down an elk, a game hunter shouldn't even make it think twice."

"I'm still not even positive this is our kind of job. These things usually go after livestock, not wild game," Dean argued back, pausing for a moment also letting Sam catch up and walk past him. He felt a little bit more secure having his brother where he could see him instead of trailing behind.

"For once, the sightings on this thing are actually too similar to discount it as something natural," Sam answered gritting his teeth as another shot of pain came shooting down his arm from his shoulder.

Dean could see his brother's jaw clench and knew they'd have to camp soon. Even if they had only been one day out when Sam fell, there was no way they'd make it back in one day, not with Sam among the walking wounded. They were just coming up to a streambed that Dean remembered from the trek into the woods earlier the day before and he also remembered a thick stand of trees that were across the stream. At the time he had thought that they would make for good shelter if they happened to get caught out in the rainstorm that was threatening. Luckily they had missed the rain but the stand of trees still remained in his mind. "Hey, Sam, cross the stream here. Let's camp on that side tonight and finish up tomorrow."

Sam didn't argue, which showed Dean just how tired and in pain his brother must really be. Normally Sam hated the woods just as much as his brother did and seeing as there were a few more hours of light left, Dean had expected him to try to push on. But if Sam was willing to call it a day early, he must truly be hurting. For a moment Dean took just the smallest amount of pleasure in the knowledge. After all, this had been Sam's idea to begin with. But the moment that thought crossed his mind Dean wondered at how wrong it made him feel to think it.

But as he settled them and began to arrange camp he had to remind himself to try to hide how angry he really was with his brother. Sam was the one who insisted this was a hunt they needed to do, and Sam was the one who managed to fall down a ravine. Okay, so it was an accident, he still should have been watching where he was going. That led to Dean having to rip up one of his favorite shirts to make a sling for his clumsy little brother. Of course Sam insisted that he hadn't brought any long sleeve shirts of his own, other than the one he was wearing, and Dean knew he'd need that for later that evening when it got cooler. And for some odd, mysterious reason Sam's pack seemed to weigh a lot more than Dean's did, making the trek even a little bit harder on Dean. And if Sam hadn't brought that many extra cloths then why the hell did his pack way so damn much? All these thoughts flitted angrily through his mind as he gathered the wood they'd need for the night.

He knew he was just out of sorts. He really did not like the woods, forests, or anything at all that dealt with nature. It all served to remind him of the last time they had been in the woods together. Yeah, the time that Dean had almost ended up as a human sized Wendigo snack. Not exactly his idea of fun times.

He knew his first priority should have been to check on Sam's shoulder but his anger was still simmering away just under the surface and there was just too much of a real possibility that he'd end up taking his foul mood out on his little brother. That he was trying really hard not to do. He may be silently sulking but he wasn't about to lay into Sam for getting hurt. The thought that he might just do that had begun to turn his stomach, but it still didn't force the anger away.

So as the afternoon sun began to fade into the west he found himself standing in the middle of their camp looking around for anything else that needed to be done. His eyes floated over Sam who was leaning up against a tree with his eyes closed. It was easy to see the frown that marred his features, probably brought on by the prolonged period of suffering silently through pain. Damnit, how long had it been since he'd taken any pain pills? Dean kneeled beside his brother pulling the heavier of the two packs near him. "Hey, Sammy, how you feeling?"

Sam didn't bother to open his eyes as he answered his brother. "Fine, Dean, just perfect, and it's Sam," he ground out between clenched teeth.

Dean ignored the correction and went on. "Bet you could use some pain pills about now," Dean suggested opening Sam's pack and fishing around for the first aid kit, but instead of the kit his hand landed on something hard and jagged. "What the hell…" he said fishing it out of the pack.

The sound of Dean's voice brought Sam's eyes open and they widened slightly seeing that Dean had his pack. "Dean, I can explain."

But Sam's words were cut off by his brother's deep growl as he pulled out first one and then several other jagged yellowish colored rocks. "What the hell are these, Sam?" Son of a b… He had been lugging around rocks all day and no wonder the pack had been so damn heavy.

Sam flinched a little at the angry tone of his brother's words but he knew he'd have to answer. "Iron Pyrite."

"I know they are Iron Pyrite, but what the hell are they doing in your pack? That damn thing weighs a ton," Dean yelled angrily.

"Dean, please calm down. I really can explain," Sam said in just a little too emotional tone. Dean should have guessed by the sound of his voice that there was a lot more to those rocks than met the eye.

"Explain, quickly Sam," Dean growled out pulling all of the shiny rocks from the pack and looking around ready to toss them away.

Sam's hand shot out and stilled his arm though. "Please, Dean, don't throw them out. Dad threw out the others… and I just wanted…" his voice faded away not at all sure if he should really tell Dean what he had been thinking the day before when he'd collected them from the stream bed. "I found them yesterday while you were scouting ahead."

Dean looked down to the rocks and frowned. Something Sam had just said had triggered a memory for the older brother. Dad had thrown out the others… What others? Then a memory from such a long time before came back to him.

"_Dean, when's Dad coming back?" came Sam's small and frightened voice. _

"_Whenever he gets the monster, Sam, now quit asking questions," Dean answered nervously holding up the torch he had fashioned from some of the dry wood he'd just set ablaze. His father had left him in charge of Sam, once again. Left them both at the camp that they'd made in the woods. The camp itself was situated on top of a dried up riverbed. Dean knew there wasn't much water around for miles but at least if his father didn't come back real soon he'd be able to dig a few feet down and hopefully strike water. They should be safe inside the protective circle his father had made around the camp and they did have enough food rations to last for a few days. He was pretty confident that Wendigos were not known to cross the type of circle his father had made, so there really wasn't anything to worry about. Was there?_

"_But, Dean, it's been a day and a half. What if he's hurt?" asked his eight-year-old brother. _

_Sam was old enough to know what their father did now. Dean had told him himself just a couple of months before. That had gotten him into some hot water for a while, but what could he do? Sam was old enough to see things and understand stuff better. It wasn't as if it could be hidden from him forever, even if Dean had really wanted to. "Dad's fine. You'll see. He always is, or at least he's always okay enough to make it back to us. You know that." Dean had looked down to his brother who was sitting beside him on the rock-covered ground. Sam just sat there with his chin resting on the palms of his hands staring down at the ground. Dean knew Sam was scared. Hell, why shouldn't he be? They were in the woods, in the middle of nowhere, with a wild creature that ate humans on the loose._

_When Sam didn't have any response to Dean's reassurances he kneeled next to his brother laying the torch down next to him and placed one arm around his shoulder. "Hey, it'll be fine. Dad will be back soon, and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you out here. Okay?"_

_Sam reached up with one hand and rubbed it against his eyes, trying desperately not to let his brother see the tears flowing from them. "It's just… this thing that Dad's after… it's… well it's just one of the real scary ones, Dean." His voice had dropped to almost a whisper, as if speaking any louder might draw it right to them and Dean heard the fear vibrating through his brother's voice._

"_I know, Sammy. I know. But you'll see, we'll all be just fine and Dad will get that ugly beast, then we'll get out of these creepy old woods," Dean said sitting down fully while he pulled Sam close to his side. Then something shiny glinted off the moonlight just a couple of feet ahead of them on the ground. "Hey, look at that, Sammy," he said trying to put as much excitement into his voice as possible. He scrambled forward and picked up the shining rock and then moved back to sit next to his brother.  
_

"_What is it Dean?" Sam asked his attention captured for a moment at least.  
_

_Dean handed the rock over to Sam very carefully as if it was the most precious thing in the world. "It's called Fool's Gold, Sammy."_

"_Fool's Gold?" Sam's voice held a small amount of awe as he took the lump from his brother's hands. "Is it like real gold, Dean?"_

_Dean could see the spark of interest in his brother's eyes. He knew he couldn't lie to him and let him believe that the rock was worth anything, but he could at least use it to distract his brother for some time. "No, it just looks like gold, but not everyone always knew that. Some people who didn't know any better during the gold rush thought that they'd found the real thing. Poor fools, ended up wasting a lot of time and energy just to pull out a whole bunch of worthless rock. That's where the name Fool's Gold comes in."_

"_Wow, Dean, tell me more about the gold rush, please!" Sam begged with those big pleading eyes looking up into his brother's. Dean never could say no to that look._

"_All right, Sam. You look around, inside the circle, for some more of this stuff and I'll tell you what I know." Dean was so pleased that he'd managed to divert his brother's fear so thoroughly, but he wanted to make sure that Sam stayed safe. So as Sam searched for and found several more pieces of Pyrite Dean kept his eyes pealed for any sign of danger as he spun tales from times gone by. _

_As the dawn broke it found their father wearily trudging back into the camp. He looked warn and frazzled but at least not injured this time. Sam had fallen asleep a few hours before, but Dean had kept standing, trying to keep alert, looking out for his younger brother.  
_

_They hadn't stayed long after that and it was all Dean could do to get Sammy up and moving but as they were packing up John had noticed Sam placing the rocks in his pack and had told him in that 'do as I say' voice to get rid of them. Sam had looked up at his father and Dean could see his bottom lip trembling. John had just turned away and started packing his own gear. Seeing his father's attention elsewhere, Dean leaned in close to Sam and whispered, "Don't worry. I'll find you some more as soon as I can. I promise." He knew Sam wouldn't be able to sneak the rocks away. John would catch him and that would mean one hell of a lecture and maybe worse, depending on his father's mood. He didn't often punish his children physically, but disobeying a direct order was one thing that had gained Sam a few spankings. Dean couldn't bear to watch that over something he'd convinced Sam to do._

Dean was brought from the memory with his brother's rushed words. "I promise, Dean, I'll carry my own pack the rest of the way. You don't have to carry them. I never even thought that you'd end up carrying it when I picked them up. They just reminded me of that night and …" Sam's voice broke off again, feeling rather childish for holding onto a memory like that, something he knew his brother probably didn't even remember.

Dean remembered though, and he remembered his promise to Sam, the promise he had never kept. He knew deep down that the rocks themselves really meant little to nothing to Sam. You could pick up Iron Pyrite in most novelty and new age shops in America. But being where they were, and finding those rocks had brought the same memory back to Sam that it had his older brother. That memory, though tinged with fear, had also been one of Sam's first real experiences knowing that his older brother was there protecting him. It held a special place in Sam's heart. Dean knew all this but one thought just kept running through his mind. "I promised you I'd find you some more." His voice held a husky tone and he could feel tears prick the corners of his eyes. He had made a promise to Sam and he hadn't kept it. It was the only promise that he could remember making to his little brother that he had actually failed to keep.

Sam's next words died on his lips as he looked into his brother's down turned eyes. They were still staring at the rocks in his hands and Sam couldn't believe the tears he could see forming on his eyelashes. "Dean… It's okay. I didn't really expect you to find more."

"Yes you did, Sam," and the first tear cascaded down his cheek. "You knew I'd do anything for you. There's no way you could have known I wouldn't keep my promise. I just… forgot."

"Whoa, Dean, wait. I might have been upset back then because Dad took them away from me, but I never worried about you not finding me more. It wasn't as if we went out camping in dry streambeds all the time anyway." Sam began to panic some seeing his brother's tears. Why was Dean crying over something as silly as this? That wasn't Dean. "Dean, dude, you're scaring me here."

Dean looked up to his brother and the tears hadn't even tried to slow down. "I'm such an ass, Sam. I've been pissed at you all day, because of this stupid hunt, and because you got hurt. It wasn't your fault. And there probably is a Chupacabra in these woods. I just didn't want to be here, because the woods still freak me out after that Wendigo thing last year. So what do I do? I take everything out on you."

Sam reached out his good arm and pulled Dean down next to him. The rocks tumbled from his hands and he reached out to pick them back up but Sam's larger hand stilled his. "Dean, stop. It's okay. We can pick out the ones we want and put them back in my pack later. Just stop for a minute and listen to me."

Dean let his hands go still but his eyes remained on the rocks strewn across the ground.

"I understand that you are outside your comfort zone out here, Dean. I really am too. And I get that your nerves are on edge. I don't blame you and it's not like it's your fault that I got hurt either…" With that though Dean quickly interrupted.

"But you are hurt, and I should have already checked your shoulder and given you more pain pills. I should have checked on you first before I even started setting up camp. But I let my stupid temper get the best of me. Damnit, Sam. I should know better. It's my job to take care of you." And there it was. The thing that always drove Dean in his life. The most important part of his being, and for once he had completely dropped the ball.

"Dean, you always take care of me. You have my whole life. I'm not gonna hold it against you if you slip a little just once." Sam wanted it to sound as if it didn't bother him that Dean had neglected him just a little. It might have rankled his feathers just a might, but Dean didn't always have to be perfect. God knows, Sam wasn't.

'_Yeah but I will_,' Dean thought bitterly to himself. But he knew arguing with Sam over it wouldn't get him anywhere. Sam would never admit that Dean did anything wrong, and Dean would never admit that he didn't. Now it was time though that he tried to make up for it. He rubbed the tears from his eyes and then reached out pulling the first aid kit from Sam's pack and opened it. He found the pain pills Sam needed and then grabbed a bottle of water from the pack handing it and the pills over. "Take these, and then give them a little while to kick in. After that I'll check that shoulder. Then after we eat you are sleeping. I'll keep watch. I want you well rested for morning."

Sam knew he should argue with him. Dean would need some sleep too, but he knew his brother would refuse no matter how much argument he put forth. So he didn't argue but he did watch as Dean began to pick up the rocks and pushed them back in the pack. "You know, we don't have to keep all those rocks. I sort of got a little carried away when I picked them up."

Dean looked at Sam and one eyebrow rose. "Yeah, Sam. Yeah we do," came his soft reply and then he looked away again staring into the sun that was just setting in the west. It would be a long night and he knew Sam probably wouldn't go to sleep immediately. Maybe he'd tell him some of the old gold rush stories he'd told him on that night when they were kids. Sam really did like those stories.

~~fin~~

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A/N: As always reviews are treated as bribes for future fics.


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